An autopsy over the weekend determined the man found dead at Centerville Beach near Ferndale on Jan. 20 died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Humboldt County Sheriffs Office said this morning.

Menlo Park resident Ike Densmore, 48, was found dead at Centerville Beach under what the sheriff's office had called suspicious circumstances. He was later found to be the reported Navy SEAL impostor who Bay Area TV station ABC 7 had investigated Nov. 19, in a six-minute TV report.

Sheriff's Office Lt. Steve Knight said the circumstances of Densmore's death seemed to align with his life, in which he had a history of lying.

"His whole life, the last 18 to 20 years, was basically a deception and he carried that through to his death," Knight said.

When investigators had initially reached the Centerville Beach scene, they thought the death could have been self-inflicted -- they found a shotgun nearby to his body, Knight said, and other factors that pointed to a suicide.

"But they didn't want to rule out a homicide," he said, because Densmore had apparently left other "unusual" items around the scene that made the investigation less than clear cut. Knight said investigators believe the items were likely laid out to mislead them. He would not say exactly what those items were.

There was no suicide note, Knight said, but the autopsy confirmed investigators' initial hunch that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.

Investigators talked with Densmore's family, friends, and contacts, Knight said. The sheriff's office had originally reported that Densmore had likely been in the area for several days.

Family and friends told law enforcement he said he was on his way to Washington to "seek medical help."